I am happy to present for your reading pleasure and faith enhancement the following article:
FAITH CHAT with Deacon John Beckmann & Deacon James Russell , permanent deacons in the Archdiocese of St. Louis
Why Must We Examine Our Consciences?
Know This...How often do you review your life? How often do you assess the good and bad things you’ve done since your last sacramental confession? If we don’t take adequate time each day to examine our consciences, especially before we enter the confessional, we cannot hope to resist sin and grow in the holiness Jesus wants us to experience. When we faithfully make an “Examination of Conscience,” we acknowledge our sins, reflect on our souls, and amend our ways.
John: It is difficult to escape the destructive grip of an addiction. Attraction to sin is an addiction. Sin destroys our relationship with God and the other members of His Body.
James: God’s natural law is inscribed in the human conscience. Through this interior voice, God helps us judge our thoughts, words, and actions as morally good or bad.
John: Christians are duty-bound to know right from wrong. We must educate ourselves in the teachings of Christ and His Church: but unless we examine our consciences, we can’t truly discern the intention of our attitudes and decisions.
James: When we make an examination, the Holy Spirit awakens us to our sins as we check our consciences against the Ten Commandments, the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, and the Precepts of the Church.
John: As we become conscious of our sins, we can seek God’s forgiveness and mercy and share in the freedom and happiness He offers to those who live the Gospel.
Let us Pray: Father in heaven, You see everything, I truly desire to see both the good and bad You see in me. I beg You to remove the blinders from my eyes and place my mind and heart in touch with my conscience. Please give me the grace necessary to acknowledge my sins, to feel sorrow for them, and to vow to never sin again. I ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Aswe grow in love of God and service to our neighbor, let us remember, “All that matters in any and every way Christ is being proclaimed.”
Monsignor William McCumber